MST3K 904 - Werewolf
The Movie Synopsis A team of implied archaeologists unearth an animal skeleton at a dig in an Arizona quarry. (Apparently, it is the first day of the dig, as there are no signs of any previous work being done. The workers have wisely elected to do physical labor at high noon, in the desert, with no sun protection. When the very first shovelful of dirt is overturned, it reveals the a skeleton, still nicely held together in a reclining position by ligaments, since the latter never deteriorate.) During the discovery, a worker named Tommy is injured and contaminated by the specimen when Yuri, the ruthlessly ambitious, violent team leader (or something like that, and a man desperately in need of a coif suppressant), shoves him to the ground. The Native Americans at the site instantly recognize the incidental music as that of a werewolf. Noel, the head of the project, seems to know quite a bit about the legend. The remains are taken to the lab. Yuri sees an opportunity for personal gain when Tommy begins turning into a werewolf in full view of hospital personnel, including a nurse wearing a cap not seen in a hospital since 1945. He then conducts an experiment to infect a security guard (the director) to see whether he turns into a werewolf as well. (He does). When a doubtful writer named Paul arrives in Flagstaff and then at the lab, Yuri, in a rage, assaults him with one of the skeleton's bones, and he is infected. During Paul's subsequent transformations, he goes around the city "doing things", such as crawling on the ground like a worm before chasing a woman through a puddle that must have been created for the scene, since this is the desert. Natalie, the love interest (who takes a freshly creative approach to each pronounciation of "werewolf" in the film) eventually comprehends what Yuri is doing and tries to save Paul. Will Yuri receive his comeuppance for behaving despicably? Will Paul and Natalie'' Euro-do it? Just what does "sleeping nose-to-anus" mean? Just how loud can a soundtrack be before it starts inducing seizures? Why does a house with no residents have an armed guard? Do most bikers like harpsichord music? It is interesting to note that this is the most recent movie to be spoofed by MST3K in terms of production, being filmed and released in 1996. The most recent movie in terms of release date is Future War, which was filmed in 1994 but wasn't released until 1997. Information * Several scenes from "Werewolf" were shot on the campus of Glendale Community College in Glendale, California. The lab scenes took place in the old Physical Science building before it was refurbished in the early 2000s. The footbridge that crosses Verdugo Road., in front of the College, is seen in several nighttime shots. * Director Tony Zarindast had purchased the stock shot of the car driving into the oil drums and exploding before shooting. He had his personal car painted to match the color of the car in the stock shots. This creates a notable mistake in the film: The original chase car is a Ford Taurus, but changes into a Plymouth Acclaim for the explosion sequence (''which is later noted by Mike and the Bots). * To help keep the film on schedule and on budget, actors Randall Oliver, R.C. Bates, Joe Estevez, and Richard Lynch performed their own stunts. * The many colors of Yuri's (Jorge Rivero's) hair: Black, Orange, Brown, Blonde highlights, Black and parted like Hitler, Salt and pepper dry look and Gray skunk stripe. To be fair, Yuri's hair never really changes color - it appears to be due to the inconsistent lighting and various days that pass during both filming and the film itself. The Episode Host Segments *'Introduction': After a fall, Mike thinks that he's James Lipton and interviews Crow, thinking the latter is Ray Liotta and interviews him about his film career. *'Segment One': Crow hits Mike with a clown hammer, restoring him to his senses. Mike attempts to affect an escape, but accidentally lands in Castle Forrester. Mike decides to give up after Brain Guy produces a cannon and points it at him. *'Segment Two': Mike and the Bots speculate over whom they would cast in their werewolf movies, using famous celebrity relatives (including Spike Knotts and Chip Hitler) as characters. All Crow can come up with is Ray Liotta. *'Segment Three': Mike, Tom and Crow dress up as a '60s girl group and sing "Where, O Werewolf", about "Cindy" (Mike)'s doomed relationship with her werewolf boyfriend. *'Segment Four': Mike cuts himself on Crow's head and begins turning into a Werecrow. Servo is horrified, but Crow warms to the idea and tells Mike what to expect from his transformation. *'Segment Five': Mike is even further along in his transformation, but Servo comes up with an antidote. Unfortunately, Servo is now transforming into a Weremike. At Castle Forrester, Pearl attempts to create her own werewolf, but Bobo produces a cocker spaniel instead. Stinger: Natalie's flat emotionless delivery of the line "This is absolutely fascinating." Trivia * The wolf in the last host segment was played by Kevin Murphy's dog, Humphrey. * At the time of its appearance on "Mystery Science Theater 3000" in 1998 it was the most recent film that had ever been featured on the series. * Included in the 20th Anniversary Edition DVD set with First Spaceship on Venus, Laserblast, and Future War. * This is one of iCarly actresses' Jennette Mccurdy's favorite episodes. Obscure References *''"Right - King TImohoe here is going to drive himself home."'' 'King Timahoe was an Irish setter owned by President Nixon. *''"An American Werewolf in traffic!"'' A quick reference to the film, An American Werewolf in London. *''"...a film called 'Operation Dumbo Drop'. Let's talk about that!"'' Operation Dumbo Drop was a 1995 movie starring Danny Glover and Ray Liotta. *''"...Harold Robbins' 'The Lonely Lady'..."'' The Lonely Lady was a 1983 movie based on a novel by Harold Robbins, starring Pia Zadora. *""Louis Leakey in 'Every Which Way But Loose'!" Louis Leakey was a renowned archaeologist, naturalist, and paleoanthropologist. Every Which Way But Loose was a 1978 movie starring Clint Eastwood. *''"It might just be the Bumpasses' dogs, we're not sure."'' The Bumpasses were the family of "hillbilly neighbors" in A Christmas Story. *''"E-O eleven..."'' From the theme song to the original version of Ocean's Eleven. *''"A silver bullet." "Is Coors Light in your gun?"'' Coors Light beer is referred to as "The Silver Bullet" in a long-running ad campaign. *''"If it's Martin, shoot to kill. Then *I* can be in '''Spawn!"'' In 1997, Martin Sheen appeared in the movie adaptation of the comic book Spawn. (Probably a double-joke because of Spawn 's reputation of being a terrible film.) *''"It's the actual skeleton of a 'Pushmepullyou."'' The Pushmepullyou was a type of llama from Dr. Dolittle that had a head on both ends of its body. *''"Hey mighty brontosaurus, don't you have a lesson for us?!"'' The drum beats heard on the movie's soundtrack prompts Tom Servo to sing an excerpt from Sting's 'Walking In Your Footsteps.' *''"Travis Bickle moved out to the suburbs!"'' Travis Bickle was the title character in the 1976 film Taxi Driver. *''"I'll take a walk!"'' "Over to Kirk Douglas's house!" Reference to the actor Kirk Douglas and his often angry/intense line delivery, whom Yuri seems to imitate. *''This is like the time I hit that reporter with Piltdown Man's thighbone.'' Piltdown Man was a famous paleontological hoax of the 1920s, where the skull of a supposed "missing link" between man and ape was found. It was proven to be a hoax decades later. *''"C'mon, 'The Sheltering Sky' moved quicker than this movie!"'' The Sheltering Sky was a 1990 movie set in post-war North Africa revolving around two tourist couples. (I've seen it, and yeah, it does drag on. Bernardo Bertolucci could have made 'Vanishing Point' a snooze-fest.) *''"Flagstaff. I can't believe I'm still in Flagstaff!"'' A parody of the opening line from Apocalypse Now. *''"Can't you see what I'm trying to tell you - I love you!'' Groucho Marx said this line in the film Duck Soup *''"PBR me ASAP!"'' Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer used this phrase in an advertising campaign for their beer. *''I was playing Miss Havisham in the school play when I got attacked by a werewolf!'' Miss Havisham is a character in Charles Dickens's novel Great Expectations *''"You know what I really want to do?" "Is baby be friends with you."'' Lyrics from Bob Dylan's song All I Really Want to Do *''Frederic Remington's'' Guernica''."'' Frederic Remington was an American artist famous for his depictions of American history, particularly the Old West. Guernica was a famous painting by Pablo Picasso depicting the Fascist bombing of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War. *''Basquiat is in danger!'' Jean-Michel Basquiat was a New York artist. *''Leland Sklar, survivalist'' Leland Sklar is a musician noted for his facial hair. *''Live from New York, it's Saturday night!'' This is the famous lead-in line to Saturday Night Live. In the long-running sketch show's first season, the line was typically delivered by actor Chevy Chase after he made some kind of dangerous fall. *''It's a Maurice Sendak creature.'' Maurice Sendak wrote and illustrated numerous children's books, although the reference is probably mainly to Where the Wild Things Are. *''The death of Oliver Sacks.'' Oliver Sacks is a prominent British neurologist and author of the book Awakenings. doesn't find this speciment to be all that "fascinating."]] A list of songs sung by Mike and the bots during the closing credits: *''Pow Wow the Indian Boy: theme song from a cartoon featured on the Captain Kangaroo show. *We Will Rock You: by Queen *Tusk: by Fleetwood Mac *The Battle of New Orleans: by Johnnie Horton *Gypsies, Tramps & Thieves: by Cher *The Lonely Goatherd: from ''The Sound of Music *''Here Comes Santa Claus: by Gene Autry'' *''Give It Away: by Red Hot Chili Peppers *Brand New Key: by Melanie *Admiral Halsey/Uncle Albert: by Paul and Linda McCartney *Cat's in the Cradle: by Harry Chapin *Easter Parade: by Irving Berlin'' *''One Night in Bangkok: from ''Chess *''Surrey With a Fringe on Top: from ''Oklahoma! *''The Freshmen: by Verve Pipe *Oh! Susanna'': by Stephen Foster Gags/Continuity Errors An interesting thing to notice is that Tom Servo, who normally required the assistance of Mike or Joel to enter the theater, is shown entering the movie theater all by himself in the beginning of the movie, as Mike was not on the SOL when the movie started. Since Servo's hovering abilities were just as exaggerated as Crow's rarely seen feet and MST3K is a show that encourages viewers to "just relax", this was never explained. Category:MST3K Episodes Category:Season 9 Category:90s Movie